"Thank you."
Ereshkigal lifted the hem of her gown slightly to avoid treading on it and took a seat opposite Wayland.
She cupped the porcelain tea bowl in both hands and took an elegant sip. "Delicious."
"Mhm. Grandmother's tea is always excellent."
Thinking of the meals he'd had earlier, Wayland nodded in agreement.
"You can stay in spirit form if you prefer, but I think it's better if you stay materialized most of the time. Grandmother is a kind woman; I'll tell her you're a friend, and she should be happy to let you stay. I don't think anyone could say no to a goddess as beautiful as you."
"Huh? I... I'll do whatever you think is best."
Ereshkigal's face was dusted with a faint, lovely pink.
"Am I really that scary? You seem a bit flustered."
Wayland couldn't help but smile. He leaned back slightly, watching her.
"Most Servants come out swinging or sounding like they own the place. My Eresh-chan is just... well, a good girl."
"I-I am not a 'good girl'!"
Ereshkigal looked up and glared at him, trying to sound imposing.
"I am a goddess! The terrifying Mistress of the Underworld!"
"Oh, right. Of course. Absolutely terrifying."
Wayland held up his hands in a mock gesture of surrender, his expression clearly saying he didn't believe a word of it.
"Master! You're so annoying!"
Ereshkigal huffed, looking genuinely flustered now.
"Now that sounds like the Irigal I know. By the way... is 'Irigal' one of your actual names?"
"Mhm. Irigal means 'Mistress of the Great Earth'. It's one of my titles."
"I see."
Wayland felt a sense of dawning realization. To be honest, he'd struggled to remember her full name,Ereshkigal,at first, only really getting used to it when 'Eresh-chan' became her common nickname. But he knew she preferred the shorter version.
"So... can you tell me now? Why were you inside the system in the first place?"
"Ah... well..."
Ereshkigal had expected the question, but explaining everything would mean breaking several cosmic taboos. And more importantly... it would mean admitting she'd potentially cheated to get here.
Those other deities weren't exactly easy to deal with.
"Like I told you before, the system was crafted by Da Vinci-chan as an aid for the Master. But it didn't have its own consciousness. I was worried it would mess things up for you, so I asked BB-chan for a favor... she helped me project my awareness into it so I could manage it remotely."
While Wayland suspected that the girl 'managing' the system had actually caused more chaos than the system ever would have on its own, he didn't voice the thought.
Her expression was too sincere to doubt.
"Why would your world's Chaldea create such a system just to help me?"
"That's... complicated."
Ereshkigal thought for a moment, then gave him a playful, cryptic smile.
"It's a secret. Once you reach a higher rank, you'll understand everything easily enough."
"I guess I shouldn't pry into things that are difficult to explain."
Wayland nodded. Given Ereshkigal's personality, if she could have told him, she would have. He changed the subject.
"And why did you go to such lengths to help me?"
"Everything I did,the main missions, the catalysts... it was all so that you could summon me into this world. As for why... well, you're my Master, aren't you?"
Wayland knew the reason was likely much deeper than that, but looking at her...
'Ah, forget it. I can't think straight when she looks at me like that.'
"Now that I think about it... Divine Spirits usually reside in the Inner Sea of Stars. You were often 'taking a nap' when I was at the Clock Tower. What were you really doing?"
"Oh, that? I was just visiting friends."
"Visiting friends?"
Wayland tried to square that with his image of the lonely Goddess of the Underworld.
"Hey! A girl needs a social life! Even a goddess can't just stay cooped up at home all day. Though... truth be told, most of the time I was only out because Ishtar was causing some kind of trouble. We're two sides of the same coin, you know? If she messes up, I'm usually the one who has to clean it up."
"Makes sense."
Wayland chuckled. Ishtar was the kind of goddess who could cause a world-class disaster once a year without even trying.
"One more thing... my arrival in this world. Was it Chaldea's doing?"
"Mhm. It was a very specialized form of Spiritron Transfer."
"Spiritron Transfer? So... was I originally from your world?"
Wayland looked at her in shock. He knew about Spiritron Transfer from the game,it was how Ritsuka Fujimaru traveled to the Singularities. If he'd been transferred, it meant his original home was the same parallel world as Chaldea.
He'd lived for eighteen years as a normal person, and he'd never once suspected his 'native world' was the setting of an FGO game.
'Wait... that means those writers back home were actually reporting real events?'
His thoughts began to wander toward The Matrix and The Truman Show.
***
The King of Heroes
"Grandmother, I'd like to introduce you to my girl..."
"Girlfriend? Oh my, what a beautiful young lady!"
"...classmate."
Wayland's correction was cut short by Asuka's excited exclamation.
Ereshkigal was standing there, her face a bright, vibrant crimson, looking utterly lost. Asuka took her hand and pulled her toward the tatami mats, immediately launching into a barrage of questions about her home and family.
Ereshkigal shot a desperate, pleading look Toward Wayland.
'Whoa, Grandmother! You're getting ahead of yourself! You're already asking about her parents' jobs?'
Wayland stepped forward quickly. "Grandmother, you've misunderstood. She's just a friend from school."
"A classmate?"
Asuka echoed, giving a knowing 'oh'.
"I understand. High school romance can be a delicate thing. Don't worry, I won't say a word to Ichiki. Your parents will never find out."
Wayland stared at Asuka's kind, meddling smile, then looked at Ereshkigal and offered a silent, helpless apology.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]